What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

Happy Mother's Day

I must say, it feels great to get back to sewing, and, well, I just picked a "random" project to work on. Actually, it's on my Visual To-Do list under UFO, so I'm allowed to work on it! I had picked five projects under the UFO category, and my plan is to finish them all this year. They are in various states of completion. 

When I first started the sew-along quilts, in year two (2004), we did something different. Instead of choosing one large quilt, we picked two small quilts from a four-season collection ...

I think I'm in big trouble, and I need medical attention. Not mental health medical attention, but physical. My leg has been bothering me a lot, and it's time I did something about it. I could barely walk yesterday - at least without pain, and that is affecting my good leg, so there is no time to waste. What do I suspect is the issue? Well, where do I start? Issues with the PCL, which is a tendon on the back of the knee, and the sciatic nerves.  

Don't you love how I'm self-diagnosing? I'll go ...

I'm so glad to hear that I am not alone in getting books. And Sharon mentioned something extremely important yesterday. So many books are no longer relevant because technology has changed, and the information in the books is so outdated that no one wants it. The only thing to do is to put it in the recycling bin. And that is hard. I have a few things around here that should go in the recycling bin, but I'm not there yet, either. 

However, I spent quite a bit of time in Studio B yesterday, and I learned a ...

OH—after reading the comments this morning, I don't think I'm worthy of decluttering the books! Ever since I was little, my mom taught us that books are precious. And YES - they are, but that doesn't mean you need to own all of them. Or if you buy something, you don't need to keep it! ACK!! I'm in big trouble. 

We had two great presentations in the morning, and I can share a little bit of what I've been working on. One of my goals for 2026 is to finish Sylvia's Bridal Sampler ...

Thanks everyone for your comments! I must go back and digest them! There's a lot to be said about traveling light, but if you have or want a decluttered environment at home, it's a lot easier to "declutter" what you take on vacation. BUT --- and the airlines tell you this repeatedly -- DO NOT check your medications, important papers, laptops --- basically anything that cannot be easily replaced --- do NOT check it. Clothes? You can buy clothes anywhere, but you can't easily renew a prescription. 

And not having checked luggage gives you 100% flexibility to change flights (if yours ...

OH --- I had the blog already to go and then forgot to press PUBLISH!!!

OH MY --- I'm totally obsessed with making up these presentations. When people are interested, I'm prepared to go to the ends of the Earth to find the information. I spend tons of time researching stuff for my groups and even if they don't appreciate it, (I'm sure most of them do!), I still learn a ton of stuff by finding the information. 

I just discovered something else that I need for my research. I'll share it all next week! 

Did anyone ...

I received some shocking news yesterday while I was at the gym, and big changes are coming for me! OK -- I'm exaggerating, but for me, it will be a big change. I will not be like my parents -- I will embrace the change, although it's very upsetting. What happened? 

I learned that Joseph, the most amazing spin class instructor, was LET GO!!! No one seems to know why, and I don't have his contact information, but I'm going to try to find it so I can reach out to him. I'm also going to write ...

Oh my --- What a crazy day, but it was a great day!! Three things went off without a hitch! 

I was up early and had those suitcases loaded in the car - the girls were NOT happy that I was leaving without taking them for a walk. More on that in a bit. 

The drive was great even though there was a lot of traffic. A lot of truck traffic, but no accidents, so that was a bonus. I didn't have time for accidents or major slowdowns. 

The Thames Valley Quilt Guild is a great group of people, and OH ...

I'm home, but it might have been faster to walk! OK -- I'm kidding, but there were a few hiccups along the way. 

As I lay in bed the night before, I contemplated the issue with my mom. Do I leave it and deal with it next time? Should I try to talk to her healthcare workers and have them broach the subject with her? Do I ask my aunt to deal with it? I decided to be a big girl and address it with both of them during my short morning visit before I left for the airport ...

LOL --- communal sleeping, as in at a retreat, is not for everyone. I have very few issues, although I like it when my roommates are quiet! Even sleeping in my own bed doesn't preclude me from getting a good night's sleep. The night before, I slept like a log. Last night? I was tired at 8 PM, but by the time I got into bed, I was wide awake and couldn't fall asleep. Sigh......

Now that I'm back home and have access to a sewing machine, the big question is where to start? I decided to ...

It's great to be home!!!! I managed to get a bit more sorting done before we left shortly after lunch. It was another amazing retreat with great company, a new house, and a return date for next year! You can't beat that! 

My hand was a bit sore this morning when I woke up, and I'm guessing that was from all the cutting I've done. I'm surprised it wasn't sore before, but then I wasn't making big swooping cuts -- most of what I did was piddly little trimming. 

Once I arrived home, I ...

In case they missed it in the comments (the two post-op knee people are now chatting to each other), and we have a retired orthopedic nurse amongst the readers—get an icing machine. I've heard that from other people as well. I hope I never need one, but apparently, they are the best thing since sliced bread for recovery! 

Thanks to Elle for the suggestion, and good luck to Torri and Shirley! 

I had fun at the two classes in the morning. So much creativity! I will only share my Colour My World with you—the others are still ...

I love how we all have similar interests!!! And we have no end to the creativity and fun we have while doing those. I got a picture from Lynn, and she used the orange collage fabric in her butterfly quilt! It was probably used near the bottom in that orange bit? But maybe also on the border. 

Another use of the collage fabric

Either way --- it's a fun fabric, but I won't be searching for more. I have my fat quarter of orange, and that's good enough for me. 

As for doing puzzles on the computer -- that ...

Dang it—why do we get embarrassed when we do something silly? Especially when an acknowledgement of our slight accident and a kind word would make everything better! We are all guilty of that! Thankfully, my landing was soft, and I had no bruises, nothing. BUT it's going to be dicey out there this morning, so I may wait. I'll see how it goes. The problem is that when you get either of the girls out the door to test, it's very hard to get them back in! 

The day of puzzling continues. WAIT -- I'll start ...

Ah -- the weather! Yes -- it's pretty amazing how different the weather can be, even in nearby locations. Those different weather conditions have given our sewing group a chuckle from time to time. Because we all live in different locations but are somewhat close to each other, we can forecast what is coming to the others! It's especially neat during a thunderstorm! OK -- that's when we are on a call. 

Most of our snow disappeared yesterday, even though it was only zero. The sun was out for a bit, and that sun is mighty powerful! One had to ...

In case you are wondering, Lexi and I did some real tree hugging along the walk. Why not? The trees are right there. We both got a chuckle out of it and wondered if anyone was watching. It's hard to miss me in the forest with my bright orange jacket!

At the moment, I'm reading three books - one audiobook, one ebook, and a physical book. I don't do that often, but it just worked out. All three are completely different genres. The ebook is about our brain at rest, and I have to say I agree with ...

About the air fryer — I think the smell greatly depends on what you cook. Yes -- DH was able to get crisper chicken than he can in the oven. I am not a fan of anything with grease or fat on it. Chicken with skin? I'll pass and just eat veggies - thank you! Yes -- I could remove the skin, and I do, but to eat the skin? Even crispy? No way! What I've seen so far is that if the item has grease (skin) on it, it's going to stink. If you are cooking veggies, it probably won ...

What a day! I got out my bucket of cables and other supplies as I was setting up the cameras for today's Facebook Live. No fear of losing a tripod since they are relatively large, and I keep the two video cameras attached to them. The third tripod is for my cell phone or the iPad since I now have a holder for it. 

Tripods and cameras - check!

Bucket of cables and document camera - check!

And then there is the swtichbox. As I was sorting through the cables (I ...

OH - I love the fact that puzzles helped calm someone down. I can see that. I find it extremely relaxing to sit and work on a jigsaw puzzle. I am going to try to always have one on the go since I have learned how to tackle my addiction to them. 

MOVE OVER MOM!!!! 

Hello everyone, this is Murphy and Lexi, and we have something to say. 

It's the girls -- Murphy and Lexi!!!

We love our Mom, and she is very good to us, although we do NOT get nearly as many treats as we need. We are starving ...

Taking my computer out of sleep mode was a good thing. Before I knew it, the syncing had finished, and my folders in the Classic Version of Outlook now have email in them!!! I must get busy and start deleting and resorting what's in there. I don't want to have to go through that again. 

And the program is no longer frozen. It wouldn't allow me to do anything while the syncing process was happening, so that is one positive thing that happened!!!

I went to the post office to check on my missing parcel, and they ...